Tag Archives: Salt Lake City

On Thursday morning, August 13, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert put on his sneakers and joined UDOT’s Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP) to walk to school with a group of Sugarhouse families. The short stroll was part of UDOT SNAP’s kick-off to celebrate the new-and-improved Walking School Bus mobile app.

While accompanying the students to school, Gov. Herbert praised UDOT SNAP for creating the free, forward-thinking app, which empowers parents to allow their children to walk and bike to school.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert walks with school children in Sugarhouse to celebrate the new “Walking School Bus” app

“Walking and biking to school makes our neighborhoods safer, our air cleaner and our children healthier. It also helps to build a greater sense of community,” Gov. Herbert said. “I encourage all parents who live within walking distance of school to download the free UDOT Walking School Bus App, join or organize a walking group and start the school year off right by making walking and biking to and from school a habit.”

During the walk, Gov. Herbert also encouraged the young students to continue their studies.

Parents were interested to learn that the updated Walking School Bus app now included easy tutorials, a way to invite their friends via text and social media, and that the app appears to be more navigable. They also remarked on how important the safety features on the app are to them.

Kids like the app, too.

“I feel safe, and I like walking with my friends,” nine-year-old Alex Beasley said. “And it also saves gas because you’re not using your cars.

UDOT developed and launched the free app in August 2014 to help make walking and biking to school safer and easier. With the app, parents can create and join walking groups, send messages within the app to coordinate walks, and even notify other parents when students have arrived at school. In its first year, more than 500 walking school bus groups were created across the state, and parents and students using the app reduced 91,000 car trips and 37 million grams of CO2 emissions, walked 88,000 miles and burned 8.8 million calories.

Earlier this summer, Region Two completed one of this year’s Top 10 Construction Projects – right in the middle of Salt Lake City. Construction crews from Staker Parson Companies and its subcontractors resurfaced a four mile stretch of State Street between 400 South and 3000 South – spanning both Salt Lake and South Salt Lake cities. Crews replaced old asphalt with a one inch Open Graded Surface Course (OGSC), rebuilt 141 pedestrian ramps and 23 medians, and upgraded traffic signals at 12 intersections. The $4 million project started in late April and was successfully completed in late July.

This section of State Street was last resurfaced in 2004. The roadway was starting to form potholes, and concrete medians were reaching the end of their design life. These factors indicated to UDOT that a preservation project was needed. The new pavement surface is expected to last eight to ten years and the concrete work including the new pedestrian ramps and medians is expected to last 30 to 40 years.

With work taking place on a seven-lane arterial in a central business district, the State Street resurfacing project presented several construction challenges. Cars consistently parked in the work zone near downtown Salt Lake City, which required extra signage to control. The old utilities in South Salt Lake were fragile to work around, and the unusually rainy July caused minor schedule changes. The Region Two crew and contractor team worked together to successfully complete work on time in spite of these challenges.

To minimize impacts to drivers and businesses, most of the work on the project was scheduled during overnight hours. The project team coordinated closely with local business owners and residents throughout construction to keep them apprised of upcoming access and parking restrictions, overnight work, and other potential impacts. The public involvement team distributed fliers, answered hotline calls and responded to emails to address concerns and respond to questions.

In addition to businesses and residents, key project stakeholders included Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City, UTA, Intermountain Harley Davidson, the Utah Pride Festival (UPF) and the Utah Arts Festival (UAF). During the project, Intermountain Harley Davidson attracted a few thousand motorcyclists to a series of events, such as the MDA Rock & Roll Ride and the Demo Days Ride; UPF attracted over 20,000 attendees, and UAP attracted over 80,000 attendees. Special efforts were made to modify the construction schedule to accommodate these festivals and other events. This coordination helped promote a safe and accessible festival experience.

The project received media attention at the beginning of construction. Fox 13 wrote a story that highlighted the type of work taking place on the State Street. As part of the story, Resident Engineer Bryan Chamberlain and Wild Mushroom Pizza owner James Zuiter were both interviewed. Chamberlain emphasized how crews worked at night to get the most done while impacting the fewest people, and Zuiter confirmed that despite the short-term inconvenience, business owners appreciate a freshly surfaced road.

The State Street project was accomplished on time, within budget, and with minimal inconvenience to the public. The newly-resurfaced road, reconstructed medians, and new pedestrian ramps will provide a smoother ride for drivers and enhance safety for pedestrians for years to come.

This guest post was originally published in the Region Two Fall 2014 Newsletter.

Executive Director Carlos Braceras presented several Silver Barrel Awards to employees from Maintenance Station 225 – Salt Lake Metro. The first award was presented to Station Supervisor Jake Brown for his exemplary service assisting a community group in their neighborhood clean up of the 600 North overpass.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council and the Rose Park Community Council co-sponsored a clean up of the 600 North overpass. Several community residents and almost thirty West High School JROTC students attended the event. Anticipating that most of the students would not have tools or gloves for the clean up, the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council asked UDOT for a little help. In response, Jake supplied brooms, shovels, rakes, gloves, vests and garbage bags to the group. The group was thrilled with the support and readily put everything to good use.

Jake’s willingness to support his community is a key reason why he is so deserving of the Silver Barrel Award. As Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Chair Richard Starley wrote, “We could not have done it without Jake’s support. We appreciate his willingness to help and follow through on our requests. . . . The overpass and I-15 interchange haven’t looked this clean since they were built.”

Members of Jake’s crew, Fred Baney, Mike Gailey, Robert Giolas, Brian Goins and Curtis Trott, were also presented a Silver Barrel for assisting the Salt Lake City Fire Department with containment of a semi fire on the northbound I-15 ramp to westbound I-80.

On the morning of December 5, 2013 the maintenance station was contacted at 3:20 a.m. to provide assistance with the fire fighting efforts. Due to the cold temperatures crew members were concerned about ice and responded with a plow truck and sander, a loader and a liquid brine truck with a hose attachment. Salt Lake City fire trucks began to run low on water so UDOT crew members used the brine truck to help douse the flames. The loader was used to expose the burning cargo allowing fire crews put out hot spots.

Once the fire was out Jake and his crew cleaned up the debris, assisted the tow company with removing the semi and its cargo, salted and removed ice patches and had the ramp open for the morning commute. Congratulations to these very deserving individuals.